Madonna: I was raped when I moved to New York City

Madonna revealed in an essay published in Harper's Bazaar that she was raped at knife point while living in New York when she was young.

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The essay, published in the magazine's "The Daring Issue," was a list of "daring" decisions the singer made in her life, including moving from Michigan to New York.

"New York wasn't everything I thought it would be," she wrote. "It did not welcome me with open arms. The first year, I was held up at gunpoint. Raped on the roof of a building I was dragged up to with a knife in my back, and had my apartment broken into three times. I don't know why; I had nothing of value after they took my radio the first time."

Among other key daring decisions made in her life, she mentioned the adoption of children internationally, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

She said she didn't expect to receive backlash from the public for her foreign adoptions.

"One of the many things I learned from all of this: If you aren't willing to fight for what you believe in, then don't even enter the ring," she said.